![]() (Other corrections are likewise noted in red throughout the rest of the article.) Here’s one way to fix our sentence fragment, with the correction indicated in red. Who or what is leaking? The lack of a subject, here, is what makes this phrase a sentence fragment. The example in our introduction is missing a subject: was leaking profusely. (A main clause is also known as an independent clause.) But a sentence fragment is a missing one of these elements: it doesn’t have a subject or a verb, or it is a clause that doesn’t express a complete thought on its own. In English, a complete sentence has a main clause with a subject and verb. ![]() Even sentence fragments.Ī sentence fragment is a phrase or clause written as a sentence but lacking an element, as a subject or verb, that would enable it to function as an independent sentence in normative written English. Yep, there’s a time and place for everything. We will also teach when you may actually want to use them to make your writing shine. Here’s where comes in! We will teach you about different types of sentence fragments and how to transform them into functioning, complete sentences. Their use can make writing seem choppy and disorganized, and they can easily sneak into our writing without us even noticing. Readers are left confused-or worse yet, annoyed because they can’t decipher the fragment’s meaning.Īs you can see, sentence fragments are chunks of sentences that can’t stand alone. ![]() This is often what happens when a reader comes across a sentence fragment like our example above. Correct: While Gretchen milked the cows, Helga tended the sheep.What was leaking profusely? The kitchen sink? The hot air balloon? The baby’s diaper? The informants secretly embedded in the organizationĪre you perplexed-or maybe even a little bit curious-about the rest of the story and the missing words? (OK, maybe not in the case of the diaper.).Correct: Helga tended the sheep while Gretchen milked the cows.However, the presence of the word while, a subordinating conjunction, turns the group of words into a dependent clause, so it cannot function as a complete sentence. It contains both a complete subject ( Gretchen) and a complete predicate ( milked the cows). In the above example, While Gretchen milked the cows is a sentence fragment. Sentence fragments that are dependent clausesĪ sentence fragment can occur when a dependent clause is treated as if it were a complete sentence. Correct: No matter the cost, Jamie’s mother said she would make sure he got into college.Correct: Jamie’s mother said she would make sure he got into college, no matter the cost.It is neither a complete subject nor a complete predicate. In the above example, No matter the cost is a sentence fragment. Incorrect: Jamie’s mother said she would make sure he got into college.Sentence fragments with neither complete subjects nor complete predicatesĪ sentence fragment can occur when a group of words functions as neither a complete subject nor a complete predicate. Correct: Veronica had a great time at the beach, relishing the big blue open water.Correct: Veronica had a great time at the beach.The big blue open water calmed her soul.Īdd a subject and predicate to the fragment. This sentence fragment can function as a complete subject, but it lacks a complete predicate. In the above example, The big blue open water is a sentence fragment. Incorrect: Veronica had a great time at the beach.Sentence fragments without complete predicatesĪ sentence fragment can occur due to the lack of a complete predicate. ![]()
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